Elgin
Background British America is the only place on this side of the Atlantic where a Coloured man can enjoy freedom; the free states of the Union do not afford this privilege.... The Coloured man feels that while he is living in the free states, he is not free, he is still the helpless victim of a law which has long deprived him of his Civil rights. Following a natural impulse for liberty, he looks to this Province for that freedom which is denyed sic him elsewhere. Pease, William H., and Jane H. Pease. Black Utopia: Negro Communal Experiments in America. Madison: The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1963.(7) 88 "Come to a land of liberty and freedom where the coloured man is not despised nor a deaf ear turned to them. This is the place to live in peace and to enjoy the comforts of life." - Mary Robinson as a new settler (21) 96 The Chatham Western Planet wrote of a visit by Frederick Douglass, He was proud of his race to-day when on visiting the Elgin Association, at Buxton, he saw men, women and children, who, but a short time ago, were under the rod of the slave driver, engaged in the peaceful and noble pursuit of agriculture, settled down on their own estates, administering to their own comforts, and growing in intelligence and wealth. The efficiency of their common school, where the higher branches of education are taught, and eagerly acquired, did his heart good, and filled him with hopes for the future.(31) 102 Rev. William King William King was a Presbyterian Missionary who was born in Ireland, educated in Scotland, and spent his 20s in the US as a headmaster and then superintendent of Mathew's Academy in Louisiana. He became a slave owner during his time at Mathew's since, he claimed, he had significant difficulty finding good servants. He inherited even more slaves through his brief marriage to the daughter of a local plantation owner, Mary M. Phares. In 1844, at the age of 32 he returned to Scotland for Divinity school at Edinburgh and in 1846 became a licensed minister and missionary for the Scottish Presbytery and sent to Canada. A few years after the death of his late wife's father, King was recalled to Louisiana in 1847 to settle his father-in-law's estate, which forced him to admit to the Scottish Presbytery that he was a slave owner. The church was shocked, but allowed him the time off as he promised to bring his slaves north and set them free, which he did in 1848. As the authors of Black Utopia later wrote, ...William King had became antislavery not by exposure to Northern propaganda but by personal experience with Southern slave owning. Because he had been a slaveholder, he knew that civilized man had a moral commitment to expunge the evils of bondage. As a slaveholder, he had discovered that, as slavery was untenable, its sole alternative was freedom. And because he himself was an educated man he knew that freedom, dignity, and stature for the Negroes depended finally upon their ability to use that freedom well. He therefore turned his attention to the founding of a Negro community -- the Elgin settlement.87 The Plan In 1848 King returned to Canada with the idea for an Black settlement. That summer he "traveled widely over the southwestern peninsula of the province, visiting Negro settlements in many towns and villages, talking with the settlers, and learning as much as he could about them and about their needs." 87 As he traveled and observed, the clearer became his ideas and plans. That there was need for an organized Negro community was without question. The Negroes, many of them fugitive, illiterate, destitute, either unequipped to cope with white society or excluded from it, had fled to Canada ... Refuge, however, was not enough. Training and preparation were indispensable. That King's expression was primarily religious there is no denying, that the attitude was equally secular is without doubt ... To provide comfort and security, succor and warmth, to provide a haven against social ostracism and legal discrimination, to provide education and training for the future, for all these reasons Elgin was needed.88 King's vision of community leadership was twofold. As a missionary, it would fall to him to provide religious training and education as well overall guidance and direction, but the secular responsibilities of running the community "would rest with the Negroes themselves, speaking through their elected representatives in community committees."88 The Presbyterian Church King hoped that his church would sponsor his idea. From his tour around western Ontario in 1848, he reported that Black Preachers are men of their own colour: mostly without learning and many of them without piety. They are constantly disputing among themselves, & producing strife and discord among the People. These unhappy disputes break up all social intercourse in the settlment. This is a formidable obstacle in the way of missionary effort, it renders it necessary to begin a new settlement where the influence of this class will be in a great measure excluded.91 but he was told The Synod, as a spiritual body cannot originate or conduct any scheme of settlement for the colored population, but . . . they think favorably of Mr. King's proposal, and are ready to appoint a Committee to co-operate with him in bringing the subject before the public, with the view of an association being formed for the purpose of obtaining subscriptions to the object . . . . (4) 89 That committee did agree with King's proposals. After getting the support of Lord Elgin, Governor General of Canada, the committee released the "Prospectus of a Scheme for the Social and Moral Improvement of the Coloured People of Canada" to other local denominations for them to promote to their congregants. This successfully won the support of many influential local community members. 'The Elgin Association was created and William was made the "Managing Director" of the Elgin Settlement.' The committee having taken into consideration the peculiar circumstances in which the coloured people came into the Province and the debasing influences exerted by slavery on their character, and having held extensive correspondence with gentlemen in various parts of the Province and of different religious denominations who are known to have an interest in this matter, have come to the conclusion, that it is highly important to the successful operation of a Christian mission among this class of people, that a tract of land be purchased and a settlement formed in a suitable locality, consisting entirely of coloured persons, placed under a careful and judicious supervision; they are also of opinion that a tract of unoccupied land containing 9,000 acres lying in the township of Raleigh in the western district presents greater advantage as regards to soil, climate, and nearness to market, and adaptation to the physical constitution and habits of the coloured race, than any other tract that has come within our view. Joint-Stock Company The "Prospectus of a Scheme...." continued, The committee after careful examination of the whole subject, have resolved to submit to the Christian public, a proposal to form an Association, under such a name as may afterwards be agreed upon, for purchasing the tract of land above referred to in order that it may be opened for settlement by people of colour and to solicit for this purpose the aid of all who are desirous to promote the improvement of the long neglected and deeply injured race. The sum necessary to effect this purchase is about $4,000; it is proposed to raise this sum in shares of ten pounds each, one tenth of the subscription to be paid in hand and the remainder in nine equal annual installments with interest so far as it may be necessary that the stock be paid out but it is probable that not more than four installments will be required; as soon as the stock is subscribed, it is proposed to call the stockholders together in order to appoint officers for the Association and to make arrangements for the immediate settlement of the lands. The entire management as to the terms of settlement and the financial concerns of the Association will continue in the hands of the stock holders, and be administered by those whom they may appoint. The only conditions which the committee propose are that the lands shall be exclusively reserved for coloured settlers and sold to them on the lowest terms which will remunerate the stockholders for their expenditure. As the object of this effort is one of pure benevolence undertaken solely with the view of improving the social and religious condition of the coloured people in Canada, we confidently expect and earnestly solicit the sympathy and aid of the Christian community in behalf of it.Buxton National Historic Site & Museum. “Reverend William King (1812-1895).” Buxton Museum Virtual Exhibit. Accessed February 3, 2018. http://www.buxtonmuseum.com/history/PEOPLE/king-william.html. The joint stock company, which was formally established in June 1849 under the name of the Elgin Association, would be responsible for the initial capital needed to buy the land, and would 'act as legal agent for all financial arrangements of the community.' The company would exist only until all the intended land had been bought and resold to the settlers, and when the community became financially independent.88 Establishment 'Founding' The Buxton Mission and the Elgin settlement were founded "to meet the present wants of the coloured population by providing the adult population with a permanent home, and the means of Grace, and their children with a Christian education."(13) 91 In October 1849 the Elgin Association purchased an initial 4,300 acres of land89, which increased to 7,000 acres by 1853. King traveled to Ohio and returned with his former slaves the next month, where the joined with several other families eager to help found the community. Unqualified to purchase settlement lands himself, in December he bought 100 acres in the center of Buxton. Quickly William trained 'cabin raising crews,' which consisted of 12 men and a team of oxen. With two men to cut logs, one to haul them, four to 'cut corners and saddle logs down' and five men to put the logs in place, a cabin could be erected in a single day. Residents had "chopping bees" to clear a path for the main roads of the community. A building to serve as both school and church was built 'on Kings property due to threats of violence if a black school opened.' Financing After accepting boxes of clothing donations from supporters in Boston, King announced that Elgin would accept no other such charity. He and the settlers ' wanted to show that they needed only "fair field and no favour." Support for the Buxton Mission came mostly from local Presbyterian churches and a few generous individuals. In fall of 1850 King went to visit the Presbyterian stronghold of Pittsburgh to raise money. The trip was a success, forming a warm relationship between the two communities. In addition to raising $400 during the trip, soon after he returned to Canada, the community received several boxes of books dubbed the "Presbyterian Library" from 'the ladies of Allegheny City,' as well as 5 Missionary Maps for the school. Soon they received an even larger gift, a 500 pound bell from the "Colored Inhabitants of Pittsburgh." It was the first steeple bell west of London. 'The Buxton Liberty Bell rang at 6 a.m. each morning and 9 p.m. each evening to remind the settlers of their brethren still in bondage, and everytime a slave reached freedom in Buxton.' In another fundraising trip, this time a tour of Great Britain in 1860, King collected $4,000 for the general building fund, a $730 annual pledge from the Irish Presbyterian Church, 500 books for the mission library and most of the funds used to build the mission church itself.(14) 91 'Population' At its peak, there were at least 200 families and over 1,000 people, with over 800 heads of livestock, with over 1,500 acres of cultivated land. 92 Most of the residents were not recent ex-slaves or 'immediate fugitives,' and had mostly lived as free people in North America for some years before moving to Elgin. It has been argued that this is a major reason for the community's success, as they were particularly prepared to direct much of their energy not only to getting a mere livelihood but also to being successful as a settlement. But that was not their only goal; they also wanted to be an example to their fellow Negroes and to prove to their white neighbors the Negroes' humanity. 99 Elgin applicants were also screened and hand-picked for settlement. Samuel J. May wrote to Frederick Douglass' Paper that although they were prepared to allow 'less desirable' residents in the future, first a strong foundation must be laid. None were admitted into the Association unless they brought certificates of good moral character.... Mr. King insists that such precaution is indispensably necessary to the success of his undertaking. If all should be admitted who might come, whether they were temperate or intemperate, industrious or indolent, honest or dishonest, the management of the institution might fall into the hands of bad men, or be so seriously impeded by such men, that it could not succeed even under the conduct of the best. (26) 99 In the mid 1850s it was reported "The settlers at Buxton are characterized by a manly, independent air and manner." (16) 93 According to reports there was only one arrest in the first 8 years of the community. The community had no formal temparance clubs, but alcohol was not allowed to be made or sold in the community and there was almost a complete lack of alcohol amongst the settlers. According to King that there was not a single drunk between 1849-1863.(25)98 'Notable Residents & Visitors' Of the settlers, seventy returned to the United States to fight for the Union forces during the Civil War. Others became principals of public schools, lawyers, doctors, presidents of educational instutitions; many became teachers, and during Reconstruction, among the former Elgin residents could be numbered a member of the House of Representatives, a United States Senator, a Federal Internal Revenue Collector, and a judge of the circuit court of Mississippi. (38) 107 'The Public' There was significant protest from local communities to the creation of Elgin. A number of Western District associations and individuals protested the Canadian Provincial Assembly. The "Inhabitants of the Township of Raleigh and its Vicinity," the location chosen for Elgin, protested with popular arguments they asserted the purity of their motives and their undying love for the Negro, but pointed out that, under the circumstances, Raleigh Township, "an old, Well Settled Township," would be greatly harmed by the "Introduction of a Colony of away Vicious Blacks." In their Memorial the "Inhabitants of the Township of Raleigh and its Vicinity" brought out all the old arguments, crowning their efforts with resounding rhetorical imaginings. "Would not offices of trust, Honor, and Emolument, ultimately fall to their Share. Imagine our Legislative Halls Studded and, our principal Departments Managed by, these Ebony Men."(32) 104 Later Elgin would become the 'whipping boy in a distinctly political dispute' between the Clear Grits, of which William King and other friends of Elgin were leaders, and the conservatives, which had been injected by an anti-black sentiment by Edwin Larwill. Edwin Larwill The English Edwin Larwill was likely a local lawyer and land speculator who emerged as the 'self-appointed anti-Negro agitator for the Western District.' In August of 1849, during an anti-Elgin meeting in Chatham, Lawell, 'declaring himself in tried fashion a friend of the Negro, warned that to mix them with whites would expose the Negroes to contempt; that blacks and whites should be kept wholly apart.' It was likely Larwill who introduced the three resolutions of the meeting, 'one deploring the Elgin plan with its obvious dangers of Negro-white association and inevitable amalgamation; another urging that the government sell land to the Negroes for a colony only in a separate and isolated area; a third requesting the formation of a vigilance committee.' Copies of the resolutions were sent to the 'local Member of Parliament, the Agent of the Canada Company, the Warden of the Western District, the Governor-General, and the press.' (33) 104 That fall Larwill wrote in the Chatham Chronicle that "I am well aware of the little contemptible reasons that have induced certain officials to sanction the Elgin scheme, and in due time will expose them." 'Less than a month later the Western District Council sent a long resolution to the Governor-General deploring the whole Elgin scheme. When the resolution was published, however, it contained an additional paragraph... Though there is no positive evidence, there seems every reason to suspect Larwill of the interpolation; an interpolation which made the point that there should be a poll tax levied against Negro immigrants, that the government should investigate the advisability of discontinuing the Negro franchise, that all Negroes should be required to post bonds for their good behavior, and that the Negroes were in fact driving the whites out of the Western District and their children out of the public schools. (34) 104-5 Though his racist rhetoric carried him to the provincial legislature, he was defeated for reelection in 1851. Next he ran for Parliament in his own Kenty County in 1854. He was elected and while an M.P. he went on racist tirades against Elgin and tried to launch an official investigation on the community. He was defeated for relection in 1857. According to the Colonist, ''"His antipathy to the negro population no one can quarrel with. It is a matter of taste. But his efforts in parliament to cover with ridicule those unhappy people who fly to this country from persecution and slavery have been so pitiless and wanton that they could not fail to produce disgust and wonder." (36) 106 Community Structure 'Governance' There was Elgin a conscious political life as well, whose dual role King assiduously cultivated. He knew that active participation in running Elgin was ideal training for the Negroes both in the mechanics and the responsibilities of self-government; and he also knew that such experience could be a useful fulcrum to win for them a recognized and respected place in Canadian political life in general.96 As Samuel J. May described of the community, The Government of Buxton - so much of it as there is - is in the hands of Committees chosen annually by the people. They see that the laws of the country are not violated, and that the By-Laws of the Association are obeyed. Undoubtedly the personal influence of Mr. King has great weight with this whole people. He is a sort of Patriarch among them.96 In addition to the Canadian and Elgin Association laws and regulations to which they were bound, the community created and enforced their own regulation with their legislative, judicial and executive committees. King made sure the residents were able to become Canadian citizens as soon as possible so that they would have the right to vote outside of their community as well. He perceived that in their political unity they would have the advantages of the bloc vote; and to insure that unity as far as possible, Elgin land titles contained anti-alienation clauses which had, King pointed out "kept them settlers a compact body, so that the political power they have got will protect them." And finally, to insure ready contact with the outside world, King made sure that a post office was established at the settlement.(22) 96-97 'Facilities and Landscape' Though individually owned and built, no Elgin house was allowed smaller than 18x24x12, and it must be 33' from the road and 'have land cleared around it 64' from the center of the roadway. Each house had a garden in front enclosed by a picket fence. And across the front of each proerty ran a drainage ditch 4' wide at the top, 18" at the bottom and 2' deep. 97 The community took pride in their tidy homes and had annual competitions for the most attractive homes and grounds. In the Annual Report of the Elgin Association a report of homes from the ninth Concession said that "some of the gardens were tastefully laid out, and were filled with vegetables, fruit, and flowers - the houses clean and whitewashed - and many of them trained the vine and honey-suckle on the rustic pillars that supported the piazza in front."(24) 98 'Economy' '''Farming' Most of the Elgin farms were subsistence, but some families and individuals, especially those who did not receive cash income from outside work, grew excess produce and livestock to sell it within the community or in the markets of the local trading town, Chatham. Elgin farms grew corn, oats, wheat, hay, buckwheat, tobacco, potatoes; horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and oxen. 92 The community dealt with a number of crop disasters, including weevils, grain rust, poor harvests and crop failures, the latter of which happened most notably in the 1857-1858 season. Some of the land turned out to be swampy and had to be drained before it could be properly farmed. In addition, many of the strong and able-bodied men of the community had to split their time between the farming duties and work as hired laborers for much-needed cash. Manufacture Luckily these faming difficulties did not bring disaster to the settlement, thanks in park to its intentional diversity of 'various manufactories', which served 'not only to foster a balanced economy in the abstract, but also to provide necessary work for m any of the Negroes and perhaps most importantly to help provide community identity and family stability. Such unity was, of course, a basic consideration, for the Negroes' elevation hinged largely upon this identification - an identification which as slaves they had seldom had.'. 93 From the start Elgin had a solid base of craftsmen and small tradesmen such as carpenters, cobblers, and blacksmiths. There was a two-story brick 'temperance hotel' and general store. A Buffalo and Toronto Stock Company of Elgin supporters financed most of the construction of a saw mill. There was a potash and pearlash factory run by an experienced person King brought in from Ohio which provided significant community employment following bad harvests, but which burned down in 1859.(17-18)93-4 "By 1853, industry was establishing in the settlement as a means to be self-sufficient and provide ready cash for 'luxury' unessential items." 'Labor and Work' Families and individuals, unless sick or disabled, were expected to support themselves. Of the Elgin Association it was said that They repudiate the giving of anything to healthy able-bodied men and women, excepting a fair chance, good advice, cordial encouragement.... If sick, or disabled by accident, they settlers will, of course, be assisted by the brotherly kindness of their neighbours. If well, they ought, of course, to maintain themselves and their families. 93 1857-1859 and Timber The Panic of 1857, followed by crop failures in 1857 & 1858 caused 'considerable economic suffering.' Plans were drawn up to improve the economic conditions of the community through developing a large-scale lumber industry. In a summary of the plan the Anti-Slavery Reporter wrote that the settlement's lands "are heavily covered with oak which must be burned and destroyed to get the lands cleared; but with a proper market, and a little capital to prepare the timber for sale, it could be made profitable to the settlers, their whole time would be usefully employed, and their labour given to the improvement of their own land." 'With the investment of 2,000 GBP, the steam saw mill, the siding machine, and the shingle factory already built could be improved and kept in constant and remunerative operation. Such an investment would not only develop the timber industry at Elgin but would keep/ "the whole settlement... profitably employed." (19) 92 While on a fundraising tour of Great Britain in 1860, 'King and Archibald McKellar of Chatham sought backers for the lumbering venture' which they envisioned as another joint-stock company. As a British Philanthropist wrote King, The plan now proposed for keeping the settlers at Buxton self-supporting by giving them constant employment on their own farms in cutting and preparing timber for the British market, is worthy of the countenance and support of the philanthropist, and all who feel an interest in the social and moral improvement of a long-neglected and deeply-injured race. 94-95 It is not clear if the project was implemented or what level of success it achieved, however in 1864 the stock matured and was not repaid in time. A man in London by the name of Miller sued King, McKellar, and the Elgin group for his portion of the original loan. Nothing apparently ever came of Miller's suit; but the records indicate that part of the loan was repaid in 1873 at a reduced rate and that the rest was forgiven by the other lenders as an act of generosity toward the Elgin settlement - a circumstance which suggests confidence in the complete honesty of the venture. 95 According to King, the money had been given to investment agents and lost, though it is not clear whether that was due to the investments themselves or corruption on the part of the agents. 95 'Compensation and Finances' 'Social Structure' Religion Though the community started with a Presbyterian mission, by the 1850s there were also a Baptist and a Methodist church, both of which were the spiritual home to more of the settlers than the original mission. In 1854 the New Baptist group announced "e have no pastor, We keep up our regular meetings, and have preaching sometimes..." In 1858 the Buxton Mission congregation was formally organized, 'complete with four deacons and four elders.' It is estimated that between all the community churches, Sunday attendance may have reached 50% of the population and the Seventh Annual Report of the Buxton Mission delared that "nearly all who are able to read, have committed the Shorter Catechism to memory, and have made considerable advancement in Scriptural knowledge...". 99 'Role of Women' 'Marriage' 'Property' Each family or single settler had up to 50 acres of land. 92 'Social Activities' 'Children & Education' 'Children' 'Education' Despite the increased freedom of Canada, racism still kept most black children out of public schools. King wrote "Excluded from the pale of Christian sympathy, and deprived of the benefit of our common schools; the children are growing up in ignorance and vice, and the Parents continue in the same degraded state in which slavery has left them." (28) 100 The Mission School was opened on April 1850. There were 10 black and 2 white students the first day. King later opened a night school for adults, where "black adults learned to read the Bible for themselves and many local whites joined to learn the classics or the rudimentary knowledge required to pass a teaching exam." In 1854 there were 150 pupils, and by 1857, two additional tax-supported district schools were required. Not only were Elgin trained (black) teachers teaching across the region, many white families sent their children to Elgin's schools as well. (30) 102 Elgin was one of the only organized black communities to have never had a manual training institute. King preferred to concentrate formal education in the basics, first English, arithmetic, and geography; with Greek, Latin and algebra added later, and allow practical hands-on learning within the community teach the manual trades. 100-101 'Play' 'Leisure' 'Free Time' 'Intellectual Culture' Decline & Dissolution 'Decline' With Emancipation after the American Civil War, many began to see Elgin as no longer necessary. 107 'Dissolution' King wrote, The Elgin Settlement now having demonstrated by actual experiment, that coloured men when placed in favorable circumstances were capable of supporting themselves and improving socially and morally the same as the white race. The lands had all been settled many years ago and nearly all paid for. The Elgin Association took the necessary steps to wind up the whole affair. All families who entered on the land were living comfortably on their farms, having paid for them by their own industry and received deed for the same. They had opened out the roads, cleared and drained them. The children who had grown up and been educated in the Settlement, went all nearly south, where they obtained useful and profitable employment, some as teachers, some as lawyers and doctors and some as preachers. The affairs of the settlement were finally wound up in March, 1873; by spring a final report to the Ontario government, I giving my services to the settlement for 25 years without fee or return, and concluded my connection with in 1880. Legacy Spin-off Communities Recollections Influenced In Pop Culture Location Criticism Thomas Henning... had worried about paternalism, about King's being king, about the Negroes' subservience to their leader, and about the possibility that Elgin's progress was really an illusion produced by hot-house conditions. Although King my have been correct on his own terms, Henning's strictures were real and legitimate fears of the day, and they suggested the dangers which were inherent in an experimental community. Elgin had triumphed where earlier communities had failed, but its triumph only pointed to more fundamental problems. It had been a fitting measure for achievement for the other organized Negro communities; yet immediate triumph was long range failure. Elgin precisely because it was an isolated community provided no solutions to the larger problem of the Negro in American society.(40) 108 Contemporary Today Further Reading External Links References